The present invention relates to sitting devices in general and, more particularly, to chairs on which a user assumes a kneeling-like sitting posture.
It is well known that sitting in a conventional chair for long periods can be discomforting. Furthermore, it is also well known that conventional chairs often cause back and muscle pain complaints due to excessive pressure on the lower back when sitting in the normal 90.degree. angle sitting position.
Chairs which have attempted to solve this problem include chairs on which the user assumes a kneel-like sitting posture. These chairs are typified by at least part of the user's weight being supported by a pad against which the user's knees or the user's shins are applied to prevent the user from sliding forward when sitting in the kneel-like position.
Examples of such chairs are described in the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,841 to Giselsson describes a sitting device having a main frame, a seat pivotally mounted on the main frame and a separate knee support, which is pivotally mounted in one end each of supporting arms, which have their other ends pivotally mounted in links of a link system, one pair of the links being prolonged by an arm which extends between the frame and the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,655 to Kvalheim describes having a seat rest cushion and support and a separate back rest cushion and support. The cushions are mounted on the chair frame and interconnected by a mechanism which permits swinging the back rest cushion downwards to a knee rest position while tilting the seat rest cushion forward to a enable a person to assume a knee rest position on the chair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,699 to Dungan describes a chair having a seat and a knee rest, both of which have dedicated angular tilting arrangements.
WO Pat. No. 85/00275 describes a chair having a seat which is partitioned into two parts, the lower part serving to provide support for one or both of the user's shins.
These and similar kneel-like sitting posture devices suffer from several disadvantages. First, it is often difficult and awkward to sit down and get off from these types of chair. And second, a considerable portion of the weight of the user is transferred to the user's knee, thus increasing pressure on the knee joint which in turn can cause medical problems.
Thus, there is a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a chair on which a user assumes a kneel-like sitting posture which overcomes the above mentioned deficiencies.